Course #1

Customers Only Want Two Things! Delivering Trophy Class Customer Service

I have shared this customer service program with large and small companies. It provides dozens of ideas and tools for providing extraordinary service to your valued customers. I have simplified customer service to meet the two needs of every customer: solve my problem, and leave me feeling great about the transaction! Come and share your experiences in receiving and giving great customer service, and bring a HORROR story or two that we can learn from. Learn the lifetime value of a customer, and how much it costs to lose just one customer in the long run. I will take your team through the keys for providing truly superb customer service and many tips and ideas on how to absolutely "ecstazize" your customers. We will explore what customers expect and how to "think out of the box" in meeting those expectations. All this can and will improve your bottom line.

My full program actually has three separate two hour workshops. One is designed for leaders and managers and teaches how to hire, build and motivate a customer service team. It includes many ideas on how to do customer feedback surveys and other tips for leaders. The second is designed for front line service staff and is packed with useful tools and ideas for delivering extraordinary service. The third is how to work with difficult customers. These three can be presented in one day or in any order desired. Full information is found at the end of this section.

DESIRED OUTCOME
Service providers and supervisors who know the correct service principles and how to apply them in their work. Participants will gain new insights through the course materials and through discussion of service issues with others in the program. The end result will be a service team that is jazzed, oriented and tooled to provide extraordinary customer service.

RECOMMENDED FOR
Those influence or provide customer service. The workshop is helpful for both front-line service providers and supervisors of service areas. It is great for anyone who has anything to do with customers, including internal customers.

KEY CONCEPTS
What is exceptional customer service; three common components of effective customer service; what those you serve want from you; the eight keys for providing great customer service; how to become "easy to do business with"; the customer service model; winning service strategies; things that work; how to recover lost customers and regain customer confidence.

MATERIALS
Each workshop comes with a great interactive handout packet. In addition, I have created eight "QuickTip Cards" that provide concrete, useful ideas for serving on the phone, reception desk, sales floor, service counter, etc. These cards can be used for follow-on training when the seminar is over.

LENGTH
Two hours to a full day, depending on depth and desired results.

See full program description below:

“Customers Only Want Two Things”
Customer Service Training Program

I. Vision: I will partner with your company or organization to build a powerful and effective customer service program that can totally energize your service experience. This program will be completely customized to the unique nature of the your company. The vision is to create an engaging, informative and interactive customer service program that will bring your customers’ service experience to entirely new levels.

As a business or service provider, you can no longer rely on product differentiation alone to establish an effective niche in the market and gain and retain loyal customers. The same or similar products or services are often available from multiple competitors and at varying prices. The place where you can, and must, differentiate your business is in superlative customer service…personal, caring service that brings customers back again and again. Customer service skills must continue to be taught, mastered and institutionalized as a part of every organization’s values and mission. This is where I come in: I have helped dozens of companies, organizations and governmental offices revolutionize their service programs!

The purpose of this program is to:
• Bring a common language and program for your team that will serve both the managers and the front-line service staff in each location. This will help ensure that customers receive similar levels of service wherever they go.
• Teach principles and tools for delivering extraordinary customer service so your business or service organization becomes renowned as the premier service provider in your market and thereby greatly increase your competitive advantage.
• Provide training that will help all your employees become more versed in effective service and leadership.
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The final result will be the best trained and most motivated service teams in your history, resulting in increased productivity, more satisfied customers and a firm foundation for future growth.

III. My Background and Qualifications: I have been involved in leadership development and customer service training for over 20 years in a wide variety of settings and have created customized customer service and leadership programs for Hogi Yogi, Toyota and other clients. I have an intense interest and passion for customer service and leadership. My objective is to work “deeper” with a select number of progressive companies to assist them over a long-term basis in designing and delivering outstanding, fresh customer service and leadership programs.

III. Program Design: My program delivers fun, memorable, tool-packed and interactive customer service in a way that everyone can understand and apply the concepts. I have simplified the basic requirements of any service program to the two things that customers want: solve my problem and leave me feeling good about the visit. In its current configuration, the seminar actually has three separate 90 minute to 2 hour programs. One is oriented toward leaders and managers and how they build and lead and motivate customer service teams and programs. The second is designed to teach those who are “in the trenches” delivering customer service, both staff and managers. The third is a seminar on how to deal with difficult customers. All three can be delivered in one six hour block, or in separate sessions. They can each be shortened to ninety minutes and delivered in a four hour block as well, but the two hour versions are preferred for depth of content.

Ideally, I like to deliver the programs right in each facility or location because I like to do “tour de focus” walk-throughs of your area to demonstrate practical ideas on how to improve service. The management seminar is also an ideal fit for presenting at district or regional management training seminars.

It would also be possible to create video-tape/DVD content of me presenting the seminar for use in follow-on or refresher training, as well as CD’s with the PowerPoint shows. With the high turnover of staff, this would be an attractive option. Ideally, the first seminar would be presented by myself, and follow-up sessions could be done by in-house trainers.

III. Content Descriptions: This is a basic description of the content of each of the three seminars. See Tabs 3-5 for descriptions of the workshops.

One of the most unique features in the program is the set of eight colored customer service “QuickTip Cards:” quick reference service idea and training cards that can be used at various places from the telephone to the operations floor. These are very useful reminders of the training and can serve as easy sources for follow-on discussions and refresher training. See a sample set of cards behind TAB 8 in the back of the binder.

Other tools basic to the program are the two customer service survey questionnaires. One is a “management triage” taken by managers in their seminar. The other is a similar one given to all employees to help them assess the quality of the service program. Samples are shown in Tabs 3 and 4.

Management Seminar: See Tab 3.
Title: “Customers Only Want Two Things: Building and Leading a Trophy-Class enter Customer Service Team”
Length: (90 min-2 hours)
Major Learning Objectives: Help managers and assistant managers understand
• The criticality of customer service and how it is the most powerful differentiator in a product-competitive environment.
• 10 Steps to Providing Trophy Service
• The basic two needs of every customer and how to align processes and people to meet those needs
• How the way management treats its staff (internal customers) directly impacts on how they treat the external customer. (Customer service is an inside out process)
• How to create powerful and compelling service mission statements and values statements
• How to hire customer oriented employees and build them into service teams
• How to understand and motivate your “Generation Y” younger employees
• The LVC (Lifetime Value of A Customer) and how customer retention can improve the bottom line 25-50%.
• How to assess the needs of customers, including how to use customer focus groups, surveys and other tools
• How to check how customers are experiencing your service at every “point of impact” where customers come in contact with your services. In the staff session held in the Center, I will actually lead everyone through a “tour de focus” field tour of your facility and show ways to improve the customer experience at every point of impact.
• Why customers buy and some of the findings from the science of buying research done by Paco Underwood.
• How do recover unhappy customers and why this is important
• I will present many ideas and findings on what customers expect and simple tools for delivering extraordinary service. Each manager receives a full set of Quicktip cards to assist in follow-on training of his or her team.

Employee Seminar: See Tab 4 Oriented toward those staff who directly work with customers (management included!)
Title: “Customers Only Want Two Things: Delivering Trophy Class Center Service”
Length: (90 min-2 hours)

Major Learning Objectives: Help all staff members understand:
• The criticality of customer service and how it is the most powerful differentiator in a product-competitive environment.
• The basic two needs of every customer and how to align processes and people to meet those needs
• What turns customer’s off and how to avoid their “pet peeves”
• How the way we treat each other as employees directly impacts on how we treat the external customer. (Customer service is an inside out process)
• How to assess the needs of customers, including how to use customer focus groups, surveys and other tools
• The six step model for delivering great service
• Ways to deliver extraordinary service at every “point of impact” where customers come in contact with your services. A key activity will be to conduct a walk-thru tour-de-focus of your center facilities to brainstorm ways to improve the customer experience (starting in the parking lot!)
• How to understand the shopping experience through the eyes of a customer, using data from the book “Why We Buy.”
• This is a fun and interactive seminar where everyone shares their best and worst stories of customer service they have received and brainstorms together dozens of ideas on how to improve service. Participants receive Quicktip cards to help them apply what they have learned on the job.

Difficult Customer Seminar: See Tab 5. Oriented toward those staff who directly work with customers (management included!)
Title: “Even Difficult Customers Only Want Two Things: Serving the Challenging Customer”
Length: (90 min to 2 hours)

Major Learning Objectives: Help all staff members understand:
• How important it is to serve and “recover” even difficult customers
• The three types of difficult customers (Distracted, Disappointed and Disruptive) and how to best serve each one
• What causes customers to get “difficult” and how to prevent escalation of their emotions
• How to really listen to validate a customer’s emotions
• How to help them empty their buckets without filling yours
• How to use the LAST model: Listen, Apologize, Solve and Thank
• Helpful things to say, and things not to say!
• Each participant receives a helpful QuickTip card on how to work with difficult customers

Train the Trainer Program: In addition, I offer a fourth course: a train-the-trainer certification program. I would lead managers or training representatives through a program where they would be certified in how to present effective customer service training and receive their own copies of the instructor’s manual, videos, and related materials and learn various ways to present it effectively. I have a powerful program that teaches presenters how to creatively teach and provides dozens of ideas on how to be an effective trainer and presenter. By combining this half-day seminar with the actual customer service program we could ensure that they leave equipped to present this and other programs more effectively.

V. Costs of the Program: These can be negotiated once we work out a common vision for the extent of the program. Fees also depend on whether a company wants to purchase a license for continuing the training on their own.

As a general rule, my fees for presenting a full day of training at any location are between $1,500 and $2,500 per day. Materials fees for customer service programs run about $3.00 per participant per each of the three seminar topics.

I also reduce my rates if a company wants to contract for me to do multiple sessions at various locations. I also have an outstanding program for helping first line managers develop leadership skills that could be packaged with the customer service program.

Tab 2: Participant Comments
Tab 3: Description of Management Seminar
Tab 4: Description of Staff Seminar
Tab 5: Description of Difficult Customer Seminar

TAB 2
Participant Comments

A unique combination of character, competence and enthusiasm has made Kevin an extraordinary teacher. –Stephen R. Covey

We invited Kevin Miller to provide storewide training on Customer Service and leadership skills. We discovered, to our delight, he uses foundational principles as his training style. His high energy, conviction about his subject matter and fun interactive teaching skills made a strong impact on our employees. They learned while having fun! Kevin makes the seminar experience easy. He is a skilled over-viewer, previewing his training materials and establishing clear objectives. He then relates the training to known or familiar circumstances through examples and case studies so students easily identify the principles in action. He builds upon this understanding by relating these principles to their own work situations through interaction and games. His handouts, shortcuts and survey tools are outstanding reminders of essential principles. Kevin has a comprehensive set of seminars demonstrating the breath and depth of his ability. We plan on bringing him back to develop a long-term training/coaching program we believe will be world-class. If you would like my further impressions on Kevin as a presenter or of his customer service program, please call me at 435-797-1666. --David Hansen Director Utah State University Bookstore

I invited Kevin to present his Customers Only Want Two Things seminar to the managers of the Utah area Toyota parts and service teams. His training was fast moving, interesting and engaging and left our managers with dozens of useful tools and ideas for improving service performance. We plan to have Kevin present the rest of his program this year. --Ryan Thomas Regional Toyota Parts and Service Manager

We invited Kevin to present a full eight hours of training to over 60 members in our Mountain States College Store Association last year. His powerful, dynamic sessions provided dozens of great tools to our members on how to lead their bookstore teams and deliver incredible customer service. His presentations were so great that our members insisted we invite him back this year for another day of presentations on leadership, communication, resolving conflict, and working with difficult customers. The response from our members was incredible. He leaves his audiences inspired, but more importantly, leaves very useful handouts packed with tools you can take back and implement immediately in your teams. Kevin has worked with college students for many years and understands their needs and how to lead them. His "Customers Only Want Two Things" program is right on the mark in working in this market. I highly recommend you bring Kevin in as your main presenter, or keynote speaker, for any association conference.
--Roger Reynolds, President Mountain States Association of College Stores

Kevin took every employee of our city through his three customer service seminars and it was absolutely outstanding! He presents powerful, useful information in a fast-moving fun and interactive way that leaves his audiences motivated and excited to apply the learning. We have invited him to return to present other programs and now the Chamber of Commerce is inviting him to present customer service training to our area businesses. This is great stuff! -- Marly Lazenby Payson City

Kevin inspired our franchise owners and managers with his customer service training program! He presented dozens of fresh ideas on how to deliver exceptional customer service. He understands how to deliver great service right where it counts: at every point of contact. -- Dan Grover Hogi Yogi Corporate Director of Operations

TAB 3
“Customers Only Want Two Things:
Building and Leading a Trophy-Class Customer Service Team”

Program Description: A 2-4 hour seminar designed for managers who build, lead and motivate customer service teams. The program is built around a ten step model that presents the basic principles for building and leading a premier customer service team. It is engaging and highly interactive, and highly customized to the unique challenges of each store. At the beginning of the workshop, each manager completes the “Management Triage” tool which helps pinpoint both the strengths and the challenges of the current customer service program. We then stop to discuss each element and brainstorm ways to improve the service program. The two hour version is sufficient to present the basic ideas, but the full four hour program is recommended for deep discussion and program re-design.

Each manager receives a 16 page workshop packet with ideas on how to hire, build and motivate a service team and how to assess customer needs. They also receive a full set of the 8 QuickTip cards which they can use for follow-up training with their staff.

The workshop is illustrated by a very effective PowerPoint show.

Major Learning Objectives: Help full time managers understand
• The criticality of customer service and how it is the most powerful differentiator in a product-competitive environment.
• 10 Steps to Providing Trophy Service
• The basic two needs of every customer and how to align processes and people to meet those needs
• How the way management treats its staff (internal customers) directly impacts on how they treat the external customer. (Customer service is an inside out process)
• How to create powerful and compelling service mission statements and values statements
• How to hire customer oriented employees and build them into service teams
• How to understand and motivate your “Generation Y” younger staff employees
• The LVC (Lifetime Value of A Customer) and how customer retention can improve the bottom line 25-50%.
• How to assess the needs of customers, including how to use customer focus groups, surveys and other tools
• How to check how customers are experiencing your facility at every “point of impact” where customers come in contact with your services. In the employee session held at your offices, I will actually lead everyone through a “tour de focus” field tour of your facility and show ways to improve the customer experience at every point of impact.
• Why customers buy and some of the findings from the science of buying research done by Paco Underwood.

TAB 4
“Customers Only Want Two Things: Delivering
Trophy Class Service”

Program Description: A 1 ½ or 2 hour seminar designed for all those who deliver customer service in the bookstore, including student employees and full and part time staff. The program is built around a six step model that presents the basic steps for delivering exceptional service It is engaging and highly interactive, and highly customized to the unique challenges of each store. During the workshop each participant completes a First Line Provider Customer Service Survey tool which helps pinpoint both the strengths and the challenges of the current customer service program from the perspective of front-line staff. One of the highlights of the program is a 40 minute “tour-de-focus” walk-through of the facility where we stop along the way and brainstorm specific ideas for improving service.

Participants receive a fill-in-the-blank participant guide wherein they capture and apply key concepts. They also receive Customer Service QuickTip cards unique to the areas they serve in (cashier, phone, sales-floor, etc.) that provide tips on how to deliver exceptional service. These cards provide excellent tools for review and follow-on training.

The workshop is illustrated by a very effective PowerPoint show.

Major Learning Objectives: Help all staff members understand:
• The criticality of customer service and how it is the most powerful differentiator in a product-competitive environment.
• The basic two needs of every customer and how to align processes and people to meet those needs
• What turns customer’s off and how to avoid their “pet peeves”
• How the way we treat each other as employees directly impacts on how we treat the external customer. (Customer service is an inside out process)
• How to assess the needs of customers, including how to use customer focus groups, surveys and other tools
• The six step model for delivering great service
• Ways to deliver extraordinary service at every “point of impact” where customers come in contact with your services. A key activity will be to conduct a walk-thru tour-de-focus of your company facilities to brainstorm ways to improve the customer experience (starting in the parking lot!)
• How to understand the shopping experience through the eyes of a customer, using data from the book “Why We Buy.”
• This is a fun and interactive seminar where everyone shares their best and worst stories of customer service they have received and brainstorms together dozens of ideas on how to improve service. Participants receive Quicktip cards to help them apply what they have learned on the job.

TAB 5

“Even Difficult Customers Only Want Two Things: Serving the Challenging Customer”

Program Description: A 1 ½ to 2 hour seminar designed for all those who deliver customer service, including managers. This program presents powerful tools and tips for delivering service to challenging/difficult customers, which is one of the most arduous elements of working in any service program. Participants will learn how to defuse the emotions of difficult customers and find ways to help solve their problems and turn them into allies, not enemies.

It is a very fun and engaging workshop. Participants share their own “horror stories” of when they dealt with difficult customers and when THEY themselves were a difficult customer.

A 20 minute video entitled “The Difficult Guest” provides very fun content for the workshop with its humorous illustrations and helpful ideas.

Participants receive a workshop packet wherein they capture and apply key concepts. They also receive a Customer Service QuickTip card on how to deal with challenging customers. This card provides an excellent tool for review and follow-on training.

The workshop is illustrated by a very effective PowerPoint show.

Major Learning Objectives: Help all staff members understand:
• How important it is to serve and “recover” even difficult customers
• The three types of difficult customers (Distracted, Disappointed and Disruptive) and how to best serve each one
• What causes customers to get “difficult” and how to prevent escalation of their emotions
• How to really listen to validate a customer’s emotions
• How to help them empty their buckets without filling yours
• How to use the LAST model: Listen, Apologize, Solve and Thank
• Helpful things to say, and things not to say!
• Each participant receives a helpful QuickTip card on how to work with difficult customers